"And all the people...that say in the pride and [arrogance] of heart, 'The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will changes them into cedars.' Therefore the Lord shall set up adversaries...against [the people]..."
Isaiah 9:9-11
This is the inverse of the marriage petition: "What God has torn asunder, let no man join together." There are parts of us that must go, elements in our lives that may not be necessarily bad, just not God's best. There are things in your life just now that God wants to raze to the ground so He can rebuild with something better. It may be a habit, a ministry, a relationship, or whatever; it may even be something good and noble from the human standpoint. Whatever it is, God wants to take it away and give you something better. He wants to exchange your tin for silver.
However, we stand in God's way and cry, "No! I must have this! I cannot bear to let it go!" You must if you are to have God's best. We try and rebuild what God is tearing down, and we find ourselves fighting against God. If we resist, God will not force us; but we will have sacrificed the best for the good.
God does not expect us to bring calamity and poverty on ourselves and go live in a cave. What He does expect is for us to trust Him so much and hold everything else so loosely that when He rearranges your life for your good there will be no pain, no frustration, no despair, only the sweet joy of seeing your Father intimately working in your life.
If you try and rebuild, do not be surprised if you face divinely appointed adversity that lets you know that what has been torn down must stay torn down. May our fingers grasp only to God, and may all else be shadows.
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